Andrew couldn't hold back a grin at the familiar girl's surprise. "The Macaroons are lovely." He agreed with a smile. "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." he then added. It had certainly not been his intention to frighten her. It was rare for him to reach out to people he didn't know, and on this rare attempt at human contact, he'd managed to scare her.

Andrew wasn't sure whether or not they had classes together, but after getting a closer look at her and placing her accent, he was certain he had seen Justine somewhere before. "I think we may have." He answered her question thoughtfully. He knew for sure he wouldn't have forgotten such a pretty face, and certainly not one that had also been sorted into Ravenclaw!

"Perhaps I've seen you around the Common room?" He suggested. He was unsure of just how long the familiar girl had been going to Hogwarts. She'd obviously transferred recently, but just when was impossible to know without asking. "I'm Andrew, by the way." He added with a smile and an outstretched hand.

Tessa couldn't help but feel warm at the smile Sander was giving her. It was as if she were the only other person in the room... and honestly, she hadn't noticed her friends until after she had come beside him.

She laughed as he spoke. "Speak for yourself," she said, taking a step back to appreciate how he looked. However, that was until he brought out her present. "Oh Sander! You shouldn't have..." she trailed off as held it in front of her. Taking it gently, she opened it a bit to see what was inside. "Oh goodness- you have no idea how tempted I am to eat all of these now," she told him so that only he could hear. "Thank you," she said, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips once again.

"Would you like yours now?" she asked, bringing out his gift with a grin. "Happy Valentines day," she said, handing him the gift wrapped Maple Fudge.

"Really? Nothing can compare to your beauty though. I love the way you did your hair. I'm glad Annie didn't steer me wrong with my color combination. She hinted that you might be wearing something similar in color. I just hope I don't look like an eggplant next to you," he grinned sheepishly at her, awkwardly adjusting his tie again.

"You on the other hand look like the Swan Princess in that Swan lake ballet. So graceful and stunning," Sander smiled down at Tessa.

Sander waited with abated breath as he watched Tessa open the present he gave her and then blushed when she leaned over to kiss him.

....yes that kiss alone made his heart do that funny little dances again. Something that he was now getting used to. He really loved that feeling a lot.

"I'm glad you love your present....and feel free to eat them now if you want. Maybe we can feed each other like we did before," Sander winked at her and then it was his turn to be surprised.

"Oh Tessa you didn't have to do that. Yes I would love to have it now," Sander thanked Tessa as he took his present from her and opened it. His eyes opened wide with surprise when he uncovered what she had given him. Sander found himself tearing up and quickly blinked back the tears. Tessa's gift reminded him of home. He gently traced the the Fudge.

"Let me guess. It's Maple Fudge isn't it? Thank you so much, Tessa. I love Maple fudge because it reminds me of home," Sander leaned over to kiss Tessa gently on the lips.

"Thank you again, for agreeing to be my Valentine," he whispered to her as he leaned back from the kiss.

Then he began to grin devilishly. "Would you be interested in taking a ride with me on the Tunnel of Love," he whispered in her ear, so that no one else would hear him.

Sophie's compliment made Adi grin and made him feel even more confident. Even the annoying gray hairs could not put a damper on his spirit which seemed to have soared ever since Sophie had said yes to being his Valentine. So, yep. No need to be nervous.

"Indeed it is,'' Adi replied, casting another sweeping glance around the Hall. Games, maybe? Tunnel of Love? Er...maybe later. "How about the photo booth?'' he suggested. He'd like to have this memory forever, please! Hehe.

Oh! And he almost forgot even though he'd been holding the small box in his hands all along. Adi had brought along a gift for Sophie. He held out the box. "I hope you like it, Sophie. Happy Valentine's Day.'' And without thinking, Adi leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek.

After applying her second coat of chap stick, Fern pocketed the tube and compact and fluffed her skirts. The only bad thing about sitting at a table was that her legs, and more importantly, her shoes were under the table skirt, and she couldn't admire how sparky they were.

But that was okay. Once she and her date were on the dance floor, everyone would be saying, "WOAH! LOOK AT FERN QUIMBLEY WORKING THOSE KILLER HEALS!"

Fern was giggling in delighted anticipation of this when Brynny arrived. The 12-year-old turned in her chair at the sound of the Ravenclaw's voice, a huge smile on her face that quickly turned into a frown. "Brynny," Fern began tentatively but stopped to possessively grab the back of her date's chair when the first year tried to pull it out.

Drama was avoided when her friend took a seat in the other chair, and Fern let go of her grasp on the chair to rearrange the napkin. There. Perfect. Everything needed to be perfect. And it was - almost.

The chair was perfect. The table was perfect. The decorated Great Hall was perfect. Fern was perfect.

But Brynny.

Brynny was not perfect.

"It's the Half-Hearted Ball," Fern answered slowly. How did Brynny not know this? And what was she wearing? The Ravenclaw's pajama pants were cute, but they were pajama pants. And her shirt. "No Boyfriend. No Problem."

Ummm, more like BIG problem!

"Where's Kace!? Didn't he ask you!? Sure Brynny's hair was grey now, but if you looked at it just right, it could almost pass for silver. And anyway, it wasn't her fault. It was Tora Gallaway's (Fern still needed to have a talking with that girl). AND, AND, LOVE WAS BLIND!

Alex finally reached her friends and smiled at how nice they looked all dressed up. "Hi Lux", Alex said. Hearing Lux's compliment, Alex replied, "You are looking very lovely yourself". "I love your dress.". And then the question she knew would come up sooner or later. "Date? Oh, I'm flying solo tonight.". Alex gave what she hoped was a convincing smile. You know, that smile that said...Yes, I'm here alone and I'm just fine with that. Not really, but I will never admit it.



Then Alex turned to her name twin and said, "Hi Sander". "You are looking very dapper tonight." She couldn't help but blush a little when Sander said she looked gorgeous. "Thanks twin, but I bet you say that to all the girls." Alex laughed and said, "I'll promise you a dance, that is if Tessa will let you out of her sight.. She doubted that she would and would not blame Tessa one bit for wanting her valentine to all to herself, especially tonight.

As the room started to fill, Louis, Bay and Tessa joined the group. Alex greeted the newcomers. "Hi everyone, you all look great." She watched as everyone started to pair up with their respective dates. Ahhhhh, it was just about time for Alex to make her move.....go and whack the piñata or something. No being a fifth wheel for her, no sir.

Louis tried not to look TOO relieved when Lux confessed that she hadn’t seen much of Bay lately. Good, so this meant he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen the Gryffindor in a while; so it wasn’t like Bay was avoiding specifically him or anything.

Lou turned his attention to Sander as the young man complimented him, something to which the Gryffindor responded with a smile. “Thanks, mate.” But as he went on to ask for reassurance that he didn’t look like a walking eggplant, Louis laughed aloud. “An eggplant?!” he repeated between chuckles, holding back the tears of amusement that were threatening to fill his blue eyes. “Don’t worry mate, you look great. I like the outfit,” Lou assured him with a nod of his head. He really did, though. Sander had nothing to worry about.

And then, out of nowhere — ”LOUIS!!!!!!!”
Louis jumped in his seat, eyes wide and face pale with surprise when someone screamed directly behind him. He felt his heart in his throat as he turned around sharply, only to find THE ONE, THE ONLY — BAY! At the sight of his best mate, Louis’s expression lit up with the widest of grins.

“Bay!” He jumped up to his feet and greeted his friend with a hug, as if he hadn’t seen him in seven years, rather than just a few days. He couldn’t help it, though; he’d really missed him. “Where’ve you been, mate?!” he asked, shoving the other boy by the shoulder playfully, as if upset to have been abandoned without warning. “You’ve been missed, y’know.” Louis looked around Bay for a moment before returning his gaze to the boy, “Where’s your date?”

It was then that Tessa arrived, as well as Alex, who he remembered from spending Christmas break at Sander’s mansion. “You look lovely, girls,” he said, giving them a polite smile, and trying not to look too amused as Sander and Tessa quickly went on lovey-dovey couple mode. Mann. Good thing he wasn’t going to have to witness all the love by himself and Lux was there to suffer along with him.

Bay tired to hold back his laughter as Sander saw him coming and said nothing… he made a note to thank him later… for the reaction of Louis was so funny.. "Ha…" he said… "I haven't been feeling well… but I'm okay now…." he told his best mate… "errr I don't think I have one..just going to hang out with you lot if thats okay?" he responded..

Joining the full group now Bay looked at everyone…they all looked so great.. "Sander that outfit is awesome man…you should pick mine out for the next event if there is one" he said returning the clap on his back.. "Wheres???" he started to say wheres Tessa but she joined the group then as well.. phew he wasn't the last one to arrive.

"Tessa….wow…you look…" he looked over at Sander "your a lucky man mate…" he said laughing… then there was the two other girls.. and they both looked amazing.. and it was great to see both of them.

He bowed in their direction.. "Lux….Alex….you ladies look amazing as well…very pretty indeed" he bent back up and gave each of them a wink… "hows everyone doing.. i've missed you all so much…" he continued.. he hated to be away but when ones sick they really don't want to do much.. Bay had been in bed most of the time.. except for the Quidditch match..he couldn't miss that.

Taking a quick peek again at Lux when she wasn't looking he thought to himself. "wow…she's really growing up…nice little pink dress" thank goodness no one could read minds, he would have to defiantly dance with both Alex and Lux…and maybe Tessa if Sander would give her up.. if…….

Kace never really went to balls like this. Especially when the theme was like Valentine's day. But apparently Annalee asked him to go with her and he couldn't refuse. He thought it would be fun to go with a friend. As he made his way into the great hall, he realized it all changed. It was amazing. It was really decorated for valentine's day. It was all red and had the candies on the tables. Annalee said for him to wait here. She would be there shortly, she was just getting last minute things done to her outfit.

He just wore his causal attire and was waiting to dance. He was hearing the band play and he thought their music was kind of awesome. He spotted an open table and put his coat on it. He sat down and waited for his date to arrive. He even noticed some of his friends made it here too. He even had a little gift for her since he didn't repay her back during christmas. He hoped she liked it.

Seeing Tessa walking over to them, Lux beamed and waved to her. "You look amazing, Tessa." Aww, she was already by Sander's side and being all cutsy with him. That was so adorable. Turning her attention to Alex, she smiled. "Thank you, Alex. I honestly didn't have many dresses to choose from, but I'm so happy this one works." She actually felt pretty in her dress, and she was happy of all the compliments she was getting. Aww, Alex was alone, that was sad. "We can all have fun together! And there can be friend Valentines! Like I am with Louis." Yes, Louis was her date, but it wasn't like they would be riding on the tunnel of love together.

And speaking of which...

"Sander... Tessa... Are you two going to be in the tunnel of luuuuuurve later?" Eyebrow wiggle.

Pretending not to hear Sander teasing her and Bay because no. It was not awkward at at allll.

"I have missed you, Sir Bay. You need to come see this Lady more often." Because really, she had not seen him much at all in the last bit! "Awesome job at the match by the way!" She hoped he had seen the sign she had done. She also hoped that she would get a dance with him as well as with Sander and Louis.

"I better be dancing with all you boys." Mmm.

Was she ever really mad at Jun though? She did get annoyed easily and she would get upset often but she always got over it once he told her he was only joking or whatever. Basically, no, she wasn't actually mad at him because he was her Giant and staying mad at him for more than five minutes seemed close to impossible at this point. Charlotte smiled a bit at him and shook her head. "Just moody, sorry. I'm not mad. But if I get too bored, can we leave?" She didn't think being in her room would be much fun at this point but from the looks of things, she didn't think she'd enjoy being here either? People just /weren't/ her forte. "For an old person?" Really though, she knew she looked weird but it was nice of Jun to compliment her anyhow.

By the look of his grin, she knew he was happy that she was happy with it, at least. It really was such a nice necklace though. If she ever happened to get the chance to meet whoever this cousin was, she'd have to make sure to thank him. She'd also have to make sure never to lose it but she figured wearing it all the time would help with that. "Can you put it on for me, please?" Since it had multiple colors on it, it matched what she was wearing anyhow so this was really perfect. Jun really was such a nice boy.

Sander grinned as he looked down at Tessa and then over to Alex and then winked,"Thanks. I think once I'm convinced I don't look like an eggplant, I'll believe all of you. As for dancing with you, I'm sure Tessa won't mind. I'm sure Bay and Louis will want to dance with her too, and you and Lux too. So don't go too far," he smiled gently down at her.

.....and then it was on to Louis...



Sander chuckled along with Louis as he looked down at his suit again. "I'm glad that you find my analogy funny. You look great too. You're definitely not a walking eggplant. Nope not at all. If you did, I'm sure Lux would be the first to tell you," he grinned at Louis looking knowingly at Lux.

...then he shared a knowing look with Bay.



Sander stepped forward to join both his friends, once Louis had been sufficiently surprised. He burst out laughing when Bay asked him to help him pick out his next suit. "Are you sure man? Could end up looking like the Pepto Bismol man," Sander laughed looking pointedly over at Lux's beautiful pink dress. "Or maybe like an Omelette. I hear that Lux likes the color yellow too."



Sander blinked in surprise when Lux asked both and Tessa the exact question he had just whispered to Tessa. Then he quickly recovered. "Oh we don't have to go there. This hall is one gigantic tunnel of luuuvvveee. I won't be surprised to find you in there myself," Sander grinned down at his young friend.

....yes he was teasing her, but after hearing about her latest fad for kissing boys randomly, he hoped that he wouldn't find her there.

Then he turned to congratulate Bay as he slapped an arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"Yes Bay. Congratulations on a game well played. I'm sorry I wasn't on the stands to cheer you on. I have been feeling sick the last couple of days myself too. But like you, I couldn't miss this dance....and I'm glad I didn't," Sander told his friend even as he looked down at Tessa and squeezed her hand to tell her that she was reason he was here now.

....and he was loving every minute of it.

Text Cut: JEREMIAAAAH!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennMarie

So, it was one thing that it was 'Valentine's day' not only was it the stupidest holiday that exploited every person not in a relationship, but it worshiped those who were. Not that he cared or anything, he was fine living the single pringle life. He just wished people wouldnt use a day to make their Significant others feel special cause they should do that everyday, so he thought anyway. So valentines day was Stupid, but he was told there was food and well, that's why he was here. no classes, free food, it was shoo in that he'd be here.

Minus the fact that he had to "dress up" for the event all was well, tough he hated this jacket more than anything else, ever, just hated it and well, did anyone know how to tie a bowtie? he looked down at the bowtie, still untied and hanging from his neck, maybe he should stuff it in his pocket? maybe he should leave it there, make a statement or something about he he wouldn't conform to this valentines day stuff!

Maybe he should stuff it in his pocket. Wandering around the area he made his way to the food table and managed to grab a glass of lemonade before walking away to just see what else was going on , who else was here you know, he had to show his face and proved that he actually could be social, even if it killed him

First and foremost, this was a very bittersweet moment because Lottie was incredibly happy she finally got to wear high heels and be inexplicably taller, but she also realized what that meant. Bittersweet. But mostly HAPPY.

Either way, while she was not exactly here for the event itself, because the 14th day of February wasn't really special, she came to support The Dead Kneazles. CORRECTION! Vesper Bayliss, West Odessa and Ascanius Stark. Was a fourth member really that necessary? However, this didn't mean she couldn't even approach the food table, you know? It came with the band. And a Jeremiah! Her eyes immediately landed on his undone tie, sorry, bowtie - or what would've been a bowtie had it been done. "A statement, or just a relaxed look?" Lotus asked, gesturing to his tie and choosing a drink quickly.

There was the option of him not knowing how to tie it... and she'd help him if she knew how. If that was the case.

"How are you, Jeremiah?" BEAM. Yes, Lotus was happy today, Ascanius was playing, you know? That's exciting! "We should get closer to the stage, my friends will play soon." THE STAGE. Look who it is! "And Delilah's over there." Not that it meant anything, it was just a fact.

Even though she was still half-distracted by wanting to ask if she could try out the guitar, since she wasn’t about to leave the ball just to go get her own guitar from up in the tower, Lily had still returned the grin West had given her in response to her question. Of course she knew guitars, but then he probably didn’t know that. “Thanks. Actually, I play. I have my acoustic up in my dorm…,” she began, only to be distracted as others had walked over. A pretty blonde, who had gotten a salute, followed by someone who was definitely familiar to her. Someone who actually made her feel a bit self-conscious as she seemed like she’d sort of not dressed up as much. It had just felt more comfortable to only sort of dress up. She hadn’t work her jeans and boots, like she’d done pretty much all term aside from that time in the dance lesson. Nothing had made her really feel like this was a formal occasion, even if it had been called a ball. Student Wizarding rock bands usually didn’t play at a formal ball.

She’d still given Austin a smile, though. “You look better. I didn’t think we needed to really dress up,” she admitted honestly, keeping her hands entwined behind her back, where they’d been ever since she’d first noticed the guitars up on the stage. At least he could stop her from asking if she could play something. She hoped he would. He had gotten her attention mostly away from the boys up on the stage, anyway. Enough that she’d started looking around at the other students nearby. It kind of seemed like everyone had different ideas as to what the appropriate attire was for the event, but that only made her feel less awkward. The blonde who had gotten the salute from West and then asked about going up on the stage hadn’t dressed really formally. Looking at Austin closer, he wasn’t massively dressed up either. It wasn’t really a proper suit, just a lot c loser than her dress and denim jacket was to a gown. Like the one the other girl who had approached the stage was wearing, but she still nodded in her direction, along with returning the smile. “Hi.”

"Who doesn't these days, right?" West was lucky not just that he had a certain natural intuitive skill with his music, but that he had the sort of charisma to pull off fronting a band. Or he'd not be much distinguished from everyone else who had a guitar in this place. "Maybe we could jam some time."

And... now she was talking to the snobby new dormmate who never spoke to any of the rest of them. Her boyfriend, West was pretty sure. He shrugged. "Well I hope you both enjoy the show." Yes, we're right here bro. Could say hi rather than be rude and ignore everyone else. But whatever, no skin off West's nose.

"Well hi, Dels." Grin. West leaned down "Oh really?" She wanted up here? "We'll see, you might think we suck." Nah. She wouldn't. They didn't.

"I'm glad you've come."

And of course Loppy went for the pizza. West cracked up. He HAD thought of her when he'd suggested it, honestly.

"Thanks for coming, Loppy." Even if it was mostly for Ascanius, West liked to think it was a bit for him too.

And his best BRO! West saluted back and did an air!brofist, but didn't try to interrupt since Ella appeared and was being all friendly or whatever. He grinned and went back to getting himself situated, and generally waiting for Scan and Ves.

"You look classy." West was a fan. Nice suit that Nigel was wearing and all that. "Contrast, sure. You look all angelic and whatnot." Grinnnn. West's own choice of black and red was certainly rather... rock and roll.

Oh hey and there was Lottie! West waved at her. He liked her shoes. Suited her.

"Is Blue coming?" West asked, and then promptly put a pick between his teeth, just holding it there while he continued to tweak the tuning.

Waiting for Lily to acknowledge that he was here definitely was interesting though not entirely unexpected as Austin noticed the guitars on stage and knew that she had wanted to ask if she could play one, that was pretty obvious by now but it mean that his timing had been pretty perfect since distraction methods needed to be put in place immediately so that someone ended up forgetting about the guitars entirely. Of course, not exactly something that was easy by any means but hadn’t exactly meant that he wasn’t going to try at all seeing as that would have been pretty pointless. Before he even had the opportunity to consider what to do, it appeared that she finally seemed to notice him. “I wanted to dress up though. Not many times you’d get to see me wearing a suit. But I still think you look beautiful.” he said before moving over slightly to kiss her cheek. Wasn’t every day that he saw his girlfriend in a dress so whenever he did, it wasn’t like anything he could explain. Like there were no words in the English language that could properly articulate what he tried to be able to say.

He quickly took a look around the room to see who else was there right before his attention was right back on the Ravenclaw since he wasn’t about to suddenly stop paying attention to her, at least for no reason. “So, maybe this ball means that we can actually dance together. Wasn’t much fun the last time, then again I had a dance partner who appeared to think I didn’t know what I was doing which was more than irritating. Plus I mean I would have rather danced with you anyway.” he commented, while realizing that he had a gift for her in his suit jacket. At least he thought he put it there, what would have been fantastic was if the box was sitting back in the Slytherin boys dorm but after a check of the picket right inside of the jacket, he managed to find the white box and handed it to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day Lily.”

Anna walked in quickly, she knew she was running just a tad late but she’d decided last minute to change her dress, and shoes… and hair… and well, everything. At least she got it done quickly and she didn’t have to leave Kace waiting too long. She smiled thinking of him, and how excited she was to know she was here to go with him. She straightened her dress one last time hurriedly before going in. She glanced around the hall and smiled slightly. She thought it all looked amazing, of course, it would look better once she was with Kace, maybe she’d get lucky and run into Romulus too.

And there he was. Annaleecia went over and gently tapped him on the shoulder with a small smile, “Mind if I join you?” She looked up at him, fighting back the butterflies in her stomach that she’d always got around him. She smiled and gently twisted the small package in her hands, and showed him the cupcakes, “If you’d like some… I made two for each of my friends here.” She nodded.

Ascanius had known in the back of his head that he had been forgetting something all morning. It had been like drums blaring in his head reminding him that he had something to do, somewhere to go, something important. And for the life of him, the sixth year couldn't remember.

It was only until he found no one walking the halls or in the dorm that he truly started to suspect he had missed something. And then he had seen the brightly coloured invitation for the half-hearted ball and nearly had a panic attack. He KNEW he had been forgetting something.

The Dead Kneazles were playing. More specifically, he had drums to play.

So by the time he finally got to the main stage he was a little late, but hopefully not enough so that it would draw attention. He figured if he acted cool, calm and collected no one would think twice. Grouping up with West and Nigel; 'cause maybe it was just him but he didn't see Vesper yet, he threw them each a smile, "Ready for this?"

Reality check: they were playing their first show.

And look at all the people there. They got smiles too.

Vesper was definitely taking her time in showing up to the party. It was Valentine's day; the most stoopid...POINTLESS DAY to ever exist...ever. Luckily for her, though...Ves didn't have to worry about couple-y activities like dancing...or snogging...or anything else they did. Nope, she'd be safely on stage, behind her keyboard, doing the music thing with her guys. Guys that annoyed her to no end, yes...but they were hers. So, what could she do?

BEAM.

...And no, despite how public this party was, the Ravenclaw wasn't nervous. In fact, she was probably the most peaceful she'd been since arriving at the school. There was something about losing herself in the music that caused an amazing adrenaline rush. She'd been anticipating it for weeks; inspiration (via anticipation) hitting her at odd times like quidditch practices and lessons. To quell the growing excitement, Ves had been back and forth with her mum about clothing and the gig...(which her parents were so proud about....shockingly.) Unlike the golden disaster from the Quidditch Awards banquet, this dress was plain black, simply cut...It showed more skin that she would have liked...but she was refusing to think about it. Also, heels...There were heels!...and no, she wasn't upset about them.

It'd taken hours to get ready, of course...a large portion of the time spent on the 'tattoos' littering her skin now. Up and down the outside of her left leg, red flower petals were carefully sketched in clusters, centered by silver gems; a sticking charm being awesomely useful for the occasion. It was so good that Vesper rocked the charms...as it was making this easier without a Dora's help this go 'round. The red flowers were also scattered sparsely on her right forearm and then her right shoulder, one on her collar bone...and then the cheek.

There were reasons for the effort, of course. The main one, though, was that all eyes would be on her...THEM soon...and she HAD to look like an awesomely bad-butt chick. There was no getting passed it. The boys would look awesome. She had to try. And if people DIDN'T know...It was NOT easy for any girl to stand next to them, gosh. Stoopid male models, they were. At least Vesper brought talent to the table.

...And with that singular thought in mind...HER TALENT...she stepped into the Great Hall, attempting to exude all the confidence. She was still peaceful...but the adrenaline was already started to wriggle its way into her veins. Could she just...get on stage already? She wanted to start yesterday. A Nigel and West were already there, of course...and fangirls...Vesper grinned, trying to hide it as she approached. "Seriously, the both of you should know better than to wear suits. These girls stand no chance." Yes, that was playful, wasn't it?

As she stepped up to the stage, she beamed at those assembled. There was a girl...who Vesper thought was named Delilah...Penelope...."Lottie!" She was so PLEASED to see the Hufflepuff girl here...Oh, and there was Ascanius coming in, too. Vesper gave him a rather BRIGHT beaming look...and she might have been bouncing in place...

EXCITEMENT, OKAY?!...but also, STARE. STARING AT BAND MEMBERS. Male models, you know? There was legit reasons for staring. Aheeeem. Charms must have been in place because they didn't look old and stuff.

"Aw, West! I'm pretty sure I'm going to love you guys." Nod, nod. Delilah wouldn't be here otherwise, would she? She grinned and lifted her hand for a fistbump.

And then, people started to show up. She turned to smile at Penelope and another girl, whose name she didn't know. "Excited?" They must be. At least, she was. A concert on a rather otherwise depressing day. She was quite happy now. If she didn't look at a certain individual. SIGH.

... And then the rest of the band were on the stage now. Vesper got a smile and a nod before she turned to look at the other band member. Ascanius.. he was so nice-looking. Goodness. He got a wink, though. A small wink.

Wait. Did Vesper say Lottie? The blonde turned to look around before she spotted Lotus standing with Jeremiah. Hey! She hadn't been expecting to see Lottie, to be honest. Delilah waved them over with an excited grin. "Come on here, you guys."

Theo snorted. "There would. And I'd be at the front." He grinned wide. Sure, he was kidding, but he really WOULD be at that booth straight away if Ella was fronting it. It was like a childhood dream. Whatever, though. Wasn't meant to be. Him and Alexa were doing well???! "Mmmm... she's being unusually nice. And she gave me a chocolate so if I keel over and die it is because she poisoned it." He giggled and nodded. "Me too." 100%.

"Course they did." As if these people could resist a big soppy event like this for valentine's. The bunch of soppy... buggers. "This school is bursting with couples." Made him sick. Theo followed her gaze over to the pinata again, and shrugged. Yeah, he really didn't wanna talk about Alice Fischer on valentine's day, thanks. "Too right." He shuddered at the thought.

LOL.

Talking hair. Talking about grey hair?

Theo chuckled, and hoped Ella wouldn't notice. "Well, before you do, you owe me that dance, remember?" That was pretty much why he hadn't let her escape already. Were the band gonna start playing soon, orrrrrrrr? Oh. His date? Hm. Theo's grin faded to a regular one, because he wasn't bothered exactly, just a bit bummed. "Don't have one." He said, fiddling with his tie once again.

Justine couldn't help but return the young man's grin, he had an air of intelligence about him, and he certainly seemed more comfortable in a suit than most of the other boys, and Justine found herself filled with curiosity about the young man.
She nodded pleasantly as he easily agreed with her about the pastries, hmm, the boy seemed impervious to silliness, interesting.
"It's okay, I should 'ave been paying more attention," Justine said. Taking a petite bite of a burgundy colored macaroon that tasted a bit like elfin wine, Hogwarts certainly had outdone herself, the pastries, drinks and other snacks so far were spectacular and imaginative.
Justine held out her plate to him, silently offering the pastries to the young boy with a small smile.

She was still trying to place the young man, even as he said he thought he might know her, she still couldn't think on how, or remember anything about the well-dressed boy before her.
And then he said it.
The Common Room? Oh yes! The boy was a Ravenclaw! She had often seen him reading in the Common Room, whether for pleasure or for profit Justine wasn't sure, but anyone who read as much as the boy did was interesting in her book.

Justine smiled as she shook the boy's-
Andrew's hand.
"Justine, it is a pleasure to meet you," The young girl happily said, she was a naturally friendly girl, and loved meeting new people, especially since transferring to Hogwarts.

"I have seen you in the Common Room! I zhink we are even in the same year," Justine said thoughtfully, taking another small bite of macaroon.

Alex smiled at Louis' compliment. "Why thank you kind sir", Alex replied. How have you been? She had met Louis during the Christmas holidays, but hadn't seen him since then. "I can't wait to hear the band play. Have you heard them before?"




Wow more compliments. Alex thought maybe she should dress up more often. "Thank you", she said to Bay. "It's nice to be out of school uniforms every now and then." "everone looks amazing. I'm glad I decided to come to this ball. I almost didn't come because.......I......didn't want to come alone. So who's your date for the dance Bay?". Alex didn't mean to blurt out that she was here alone. Not so smooth change of subject.



Alex saw that brief look of sympathy?, pity? in Lux's eyes when she said she was at the ball alone. The last thing she wanted was anyone feeling sorry for her. Then Lux said that they could all have fun together, as friends. It was so sweet of Lux to try to keep her from feeling uncomfortable. She was trying to include Alex and keep her from feeling left out. Alex was so grateful to have such a great group of friends. "Thanks Lux, I'd like that. I just don't want to get in anyone's way."



And another sweet and considerate friend.....everyone was going out of their way to include her. "Oh I'll be around., Alex said. "And I'll be waiting for my dance, so don't you forget! Alex was feeling better and better. She wasn't at the dance alone, she had her friends.

A STATEMENT! someone got it! he wouldnt admit to not knowing how to tie it, he was a guy he toooootallly knew these things, yup. some guidance wouldnt hurt though he looked down at the fabric hanging from his neck and debated losing it now, though it was a nice statement huh? "kinda both." statement, relaxed, i dont know how to do this look. She got that yeah, "you look nice by the way." see, he could compliment a girl, he knew how, and he didnt almost die things were looking up today he could tell

"Im fine though, thanks." you know for asking ad all, yeah how did this social interaction thing work again? help! "oh, you know the band?" whoever they were. Jeremiah had no idea and didnt know any of the kids in said band that was playing, didnt even know kids still did band things, was that a thing, band things, whatever. who was in the band though he didnt know, he looked at the stage though it was a nice setup, that was good.

asdfghjkl

She just had to point out Delilah. Jeremiah turned to look in the direction she was mentioning, towards the stage, and sure enough there she was, Delilah.




Yeah, that was a Delilah, she looked pretty, then again he thought she always looked pretty to be honest, ever since he met her, she just... did. he shook his head, slightly as he looked away and back to Lottie, they were going closer to the stage, yeah? he was all set to go over with her untill he heard Delilah call them over to where SHE was, HER, SHE, DELILAH!

this was obviously a big deal, though he didnt break a sweat or tremble cause he was rather good and keeping all his flaling and freaking out internal and didnt let things show. Clearing his throat he pointed over to where she was and smiled at her, "over there." yeeah, there, that's where he wanted to be/ where they should be cause that's where Lottie wanted to go and well, he supposed he was hanging with this crowd now, though he just wanted the food table.

Seeing Delilah and getting to hang around with her was a good plus though, yup a plus he was very very much ok with.

Bay laughed as Sander told him that he could be bright pink.. "if it looks good why not right?" he winked at his friend.. nothing wrong with a man wearing pinks or purples right… they brought out his eyes.

D'awwwwww Alex was too cute.. "No I'm not here with anyone.. just came to hang out with your friends…" he looked around where was this pretty girls date… surely Alex would have snagged a boy… and the boys who didn't ask her were surely missing out.

"wheres your date??" he asked her quietly for he knew that if she didn't have one he didn't want to upset her.